Our Engagement
January 1999 Casper was scheduled to fly back to London to complete filming on Sleepy Hollow. I had an intuitive hit that I should remain in LA and join him later, without having a clue why. I followed my hunch. Two days later, I received a script from my agents. I loved the Script. It contained a perfect blend of thriller, myth and accurate historic /religious significance, it was the Omega Code. I called Casper to tell him how excited I was and to wish me luck on my audition. I felt a sense of destiny around this project. I did a great job on my audition; I loved the director and wend off to London on a High. A week went by and I got a call saying they were going to make an offer. Casper got wind that he knew the producers from Tarzan, so he gave him a call. He suggested he could ply my cameraman. (a character who gets shot in the first scene he's in!) He thought it would be fun and at the same time he could fulfill a promise to accompany me when I was next on location. Besides the locations were not so shabby - Israel and Italy!! Larry Mortoff the producer seemed genuinely surprised by his offer "I thought you weren't available until April?" Casper told him he was supposed to wrap in February "In that case, I'd like you for the lead" - The next day all our deals were signed, sealed and delivered. It was really pretty magical! The next thing we knew, we were on a plane to Israel. We stayed in Jerusalem, but had the opportunity to travel all over the country. We were struck by the beauty of the distinctive landscapes. We were over whelmed by the religious/historical significance of every site we visited. It was an extraordinary feeling to be at the epicenter of the birthplace of Western religion. We were equally struck by how each religious faction co-habited in harmony and mutual respect. Certainly there was no evidence of the discordance and antagonism so blatantly portrayed in the press. Casper proposed to me on March 18 in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. He totally surprised me, as he slid on his knees across the marble floor in front of the crypt where Jesus was born. Obviously, I said yes and both of us must have been laughing too much as we were quickly silenced by a somber looking priest. Upon leaving the church, a local Palestinian approached us and offered Casper 200 camels for me. I was very flattered that's a lot of camels. It was tempting!! The Church of the Nativity is the only church in Israel to have survived destruction. Myth has is that it has remained intact because it is protected by its sacredness. When the Ottomans invaded Israel, destroying everything in their sight, we were stopped by a mosaic of the three kings-Balthazer, Melchior and Caspar of the Islamic descent they bypassed the church and moved on to pillage elsewhere. The church built right up against the Nativity is the Church of Saint Catherine. I found it very romantic and synchronistic that Casper proposed to me in a place where our two namesakes are preserved side by side at the symbolic birthplace of Christianity and have remained inseparable for two thousand years. I took it as a very good omen for both of us. It felt as if our union was being sanctified through time.